Tales of Arcadia: Mordred's Curse

Part 13

If there was one thing Krel hated about Earth, it was its tendency to be perfectly sunny when it really shouldn't have been.

In his mind, the sky should have been dreary, weeping and howling, and so should everyone else...

... and so should he.

However, school went on as though nothing had changed, and the sun beamed down, brilliant and carefree.

Jim, Claire, and Toby approached, looking mournful (rightfully so).

"We... heard about Cara," Jim said quietly.

"We're so sorry, Krel," Claire added quietly.

"Yeah..." Krel said quietly, his brain going fuzzy the moment the group went up to him.

"Maybe we should leave him alone," Toby suggested to the pair.

The two nodded, and all three walked away, Jim putting a hand on Krel's shoulder for a moment as he passed.

Krel rested his forehead against the door of his locker, squeezing his eyes shut.

A moment later, someone silently tapped his shoulder (with the four longer fingers- that's not important, but for some reason, it drives me freaking CRAZY when someone taps me with just one finger, so-).

Krel turned around with a soft growl. "What do you..." he stopped mid-sentence, dropping his backpack.

"Hey," Cara said with a small, tired smile, voice scratchy and weak. "... sorry I'm late."

It was... Her??? It was actually her!?

She stood there with a jacket on and a drink in her hand, setting it aside a second later as Krel stood frozen. She smiled a little more, "Heh, didja miss me?"

Krel tackled her, almost knocking her over. "YES!" He said, voice breaking, as he buried his face in her sweater and gripped the fabric in his fists.

"Ah- careful," Cara said, taking half a step back. "I'm really tired, I could pass out any second."

She rested her face in his shoulder, too, happily hiding in his hoodie. "I missed you," she said softly.

He felt her slip her arms around him, and then realized they were inside his jacket, not outside.

"To say I missed you too would be an understatement, but I guess that will have to do for now," Krel rambled as he held tighter to her.

After a long moment, Krel murmured, "Hey- what's in the thermos...?"

"Oh- throat coat tea. Turns out coughing up flowers for a month does a number on your throat," Cara mumbled back.

"I could tell, heh," Krel winced a little, paired with an awkward laugh.

"Oh, and if it wasn't obvious- we're allowed to hang out again," Cara told him.

"Finally," Krel said, squeezing her for a moment.

"And I'd just finished fixing all my tech," he added under his breath.

"Oooh, cool- how were you planning to... y'know, make it less dangerous? I'm curious now."

"... does- do my inventions make you nervous?" Krel asked, pulling back a bit.

"I mean... the bigger ones, kinda," Cara admitted.

"But that's mostly a matter of not knowing which ones have flamethrowers," she added quickly.

"That shouldn't be a problem anymore," Krel told her, pulling his hoodie further around her. "All the independently functioning ones have a recognition override now- when they see you they'll shut down."

"Very clever," Cara complimented him, happily leaning into the hug again. "I knew you'd figure something out."

Krel rested his cheek comfortably against her head, stroking her hair (which she had down today- probably to stay warm, her hands were still freezing).

"... hey," Cara said quietly, "thanks for the blanket and the axolotl. I named her Liz."

Krel laughed, "I love it."

They were interrupted by the bell.

"Aw, no, I was just starting to get warm," Cara groaned.

Krel brushed her hair out of her face- he noticed she had dark circles under her eyes and she still seemed pale. "We've got English first- the heater is broken in there so the teacher will probably let us huddle if we ask nicely."

"I sincerely doubt that," Cara said, "but it's absolutely worth a shot."